chloral

Also called trichloroacetaldehyde, trichloroacetic acid aldehyde. a colorless, oily liquid, C 2 Cl 3 HO, having a pungent odor, usually derived by the chlorination of ethyl alcohol or of acetaldehyde and combining with water to form chloral hydrate.

2.

Also called chloral hydrate. Pharmacology. a white, crystalline solid, C 2 H 3 Cl 3 O 2 , formed by combining liquid chloral with water: used as a hypnotic.

chloral

n.

colorless liquid formed by the action of chlorine on alcohol, apparently coined by German chemist Justus von Liebig in 1833 from elements from chlorine + alcohol. Later chiefly in chloral hydrate (1874).